Official: Ohio database of driver photos hasn't been misused

Ohio News

Aug 14, 2019

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Amid concern about the use of facial-recognition capabilities, Ohio’s attorney general says the state database of driver’s license and law enforcement photos hasn’t been used improperly for mass surveillance or broad dragnets.
Even so, Republican Attorney General Dave Yost says he’s ordering training requirements for Ohio officers who use the facial-recognition system. He’s also requiring that requests for such searches be handled by the state crime lab until those requirements are met.
Concerns have been raised about the potential for abuse as federal investigators have searched such databases unbeknownst to drivers whose photos were scanned.
Yost says Ohio’s facial-recognition database is used mostly by local and state investigators.
He says he’ll appoint advisers to help ensure Ohio’s system is an effective law-enforcement tool that also protects people’s privacy and rights.